Resultaten voor 'arjen dijkstra'

Cultivating and Communicating Natural and Technical Knowledge around 1800

This is a book about some of the unexpected people and places involved in cultivating knowledge of the natural world and mastery of scientific apparatus around 1800, taking readers across continental Europe from the Enlightenment to the onset of academic professionalisation. The authors widen the horizon of inquiry by looking beyond the scientific elite of academies and prestigious science sponsored by princely courts, the focus of previous major studies of this time period. They consider people of diverse professions and occupations who advanced scientific knowledge through practical means by devoting their spare time and personal resources, thereby crossing geographic, linguistic and societal barriers. The case studies together demonstrate that such individuals contributed substantially to the spread of new knowledge and found ways to contribute technical innovations to society. The present volume is devoted to these people: the devotees of science.

1. Arjen Dijkstra

Builder of Heavens

In the late eighteenth century, Eise Eisinga, living in the small university town of Franeker, built a magnificent model of the solar system. When it was finished, news of his Planetarium spread rapidly all over the world. In this book, Arjen Dijkstra tells a delightful new story about Eisinga’s life and the creation of the Franeker Planetarium. He draws upon dozens of previously unknown sources to put together a remarkable picture of the Builder of Heavens, placing Eisinga in the context of major economic, political and scientific change. The Planetarium was awarded the UNESCO World Heritage status in 2023. Arjen Dijkstra, PhD (b. 1979) is the director of Tresoar, Museum, Archive and Library Fryslân in Leeuwarden. He specialises in the history of science. ‘Rigorous, thoughtful and gently myth-busting’ – David Mitchell ‘Beautifully, colorfully, even lovingly’ – Dava Sobel ‘Read this book!’ – Ben Feringa